Guide to Hebrew Transliteration and Rabbinic Texts
Guide to using Rabbinic texts: Transliteration issues: Hebrew has a different phonetic structure from English, and there is no universally accepted transliteration system. Therefore, the same title or word might show up in English works with diverse spellings. Here are a few things you can look for. Consonants ß The Hebrew letter b is usually an English B, but under some circumstances it is pronounced as a V. In those cases, it can be transliterated as either b, b, or v. (In German, it might even show up as a w.) ß Hebrew w can show up as either a v or a w. ß Hebrew x is an aspirated h sound, and is correctly transliterated as a h 9 (with a dot underneath). Ashkenazic Jews pronounce it as a gutteral, like the soft k (see below), and so it is often transliterated as a kh or ch. ß The Hebrew y, which is a Y consonant, might be transliterated as i or j (especially in German works). ß Similarly, the letter k is usually a simple K, but under some circumstances it is a guttural (Scottish/German) ch or kh sound, and is transliterated accordingly. ß Hebrew p can be either a P or F sound, depending on certain grammatical rules. In the latter case, it can be written as a p, p, f or ph. ß The Hebrew c is an emphatic S sound with no real equivalent in English. The correct transliteration is s,9 but Ashkenazic Jews generally pronounce it as a TZ sound, so that it will be transliterated as z, tz, ts, c or.ç.
[Show full text]